Sometimes the media can be fair to us. They are very right about this statement:
Most of the time people don’t notice Jensen’s gun. That’s not uncommon, said John Pierce, a law student and computer consultant in Virginia who is a co-founder of OpenCarry.org.
“People are carrying pagers, BlackBerrys, cellphones,” Pierce said. “They see a black lump on your belt and their eyes slide off.”
I’ve often had people ask me why I carry, like it’s some kind of great burden. In most cases, people just have a gut reaction to the idea. It’s not that they are afraid, though some are, it’s more that they tend to assume “Well, normal people don’t do that. Why would anyone want to carry a gun around with them?”
Reality is I find a gun to be far less of a burden to carry than a cell phone or a Blackberry.  For one, the gun doesn’t bug me regularly to pay attention to it. It’s a passive device. For two, I can’t count the number of cell phone clips I’ve broken by clipping it in doorways or againts walls. I’ve had my Glock do the same, and I think the doorway is getting damaged before the Glock. It’s made to last. Thirdly, I don’t have to worry about whether my Glock is charged sufficiently to make it through the rest of the day, and I’ve never had to scramble around looking for an outlet because it went dead unexpectedly. Of course, if the Brady Campaign gets its way, we’ll all be carrying around smart guns that barely work and has all the same burdens as a cell phone.
The electronics we carry around are quite a burden if you think about it. A gun, comparitively, doesn’t see much day to day use, but if you do need one, you really need one, and I’ve always been one to err on the side of caution.
Honestly, I don’t buy an electronic device unless I can just carry it in my pocket. If I want to feel like I’m wearing a utility belt, I’ll go get rich and become Batman.
I’d also note that I never leave the house armed without a cell phone in the pocket as well. If you actually you actually wait between drawing and shooting to give the goblin enough time to run, and he takes that opportunity, you need to be on the phone with the police seconds later. Otherwise, you’ll probably find yourself arrested for brandishing a firearm. A lot of police will claim this isn’t true, but the first to call is generally the one who is believed to be the victim.
BTW, I have actually seen this exact thing happen. One of the guys in the VCDL spent years fighting with the Portsmouth D.A.s office because some thug called him in for brandishing after trying to attack him with a pipe, and finding a revolver pointed at him.
the comments on the article are pure PSH – and now, I have a headache. Fantastic.
Sorry Breda. Just checked it out myself. Comment sections of major media outlets like LA Times tend to be a lot of folks talking past each other without trying to come to any real understanding. It’s a useful exercise in attitudes though. To some degree I think comm enters are people who have staked out a position, and will not be wavered. But the danger in these articles, for the anti-gun movement at least, is that it does get the message out there that there are normal people who carry guns for self-protection.
Remind me again what ‘PSH’ stands for…
Pants shitting hysterics
I’m figuring out ways to better carry my Glock 23 (.40 S&W), moving up from my PT111 (9mm), which itself was a step up from my Bersa Thunder .380; Even though it’s summer in Texas, I’ve managed to find a combination of clothing that still affords maximum comfort and good concealment. It makes me look a little more overweight than I actually am, but if I were my “ideal” weight, I might not be able to pull it off. My Springfield XD compact .45 acp isn’t a whole lot larger than the Glock 23, so I will be working with it soon, too. I still feel pretty self conscious when carrying concealed, but maybe that’s a good thing for now.
Back last winter, when I was sometimes in a heavy coat, I was regularly carrying around my full-frame PT92 in a paddle holster concealed on my hip under a sweatshirt.